The Nightly Routine
by SavvyRavenclaw20
Summary: Sho tries to justify Kei’s nightly routine after his friend lives the apartment.


His movement was quick, his steps quiet and soft on the white carpet underneath his feet. If it hadn't been for the squeak of the door when Kei went to the closet, Sho would still be asleep on the daybed, oblivious, though not entirely unaware of the other man's movement around the tiny room.

Sho shifted under the covers, his eyes flickering open to vision slightly blurred by sleep. Once clear they followed Kei around the dim room. He remained silent; not wanting to draw attention to his being awake. It was still dark out for he saw only darkness through the small slit between the dark-brown curtains. It was too early to be awake and by a quick glance at the neon red numbers on the digital clock, saw that he'd only been asleep for a few hours, three to be exact.

His eyes followed Kei until he walked into the small bath. There was the sound of water running in the sink; its sound magnified by the deafening silence of the rest of the apartment. There were footsteps once more before the door was pulled open from the other side and Kei stepped out; his eyes searching the room.

Sho quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. His ears took the place of his eyes as they listened to Kei's steps across the room.

The other man was being, quiet, too quiet; his every movement as he pulled on his shoes and shirt slow as if he believed that by dressing slowly his motions would go unnoticed. His plan would have been clever if Sho hadn't already been awake.

When he felt that Kei's back was turned, Sho opened his eyes and peered at the older man's back, watching him pull one of his own black hoodies over his head. The bulky fabric dwarfed his tiny frame making him look thinner and more fragile than he already was in his current state. His boyish jaw line was set as he glanced around the room one final time, finally looking in Sho's direction.

Sho quickly shut his eyes and feigned sleep and he opened them only when he heard Kei open the front door; letting in a icy chill before stepping outside into the cold February night; the door closed with a defiant snap behind him.

Sho knew that he was gone again to complete the same ominous routine he sought every night to accomplish when he thought he was asleep. Sho knew this because every night, before he fell asleep at Kei's side, Kei would become very quiet and withdrawn, cold even. Each night he would ask what was wrong, though he knew the answer, and he'd get the same response. Kei would say that he was fine and that he shouldn't worry. He could handle himself, he would say before turning onto his side on the bed or sofa, whatever they were lying on at the time, and cross his arms over his chest and fall asleep, though Sho knew he'd only rest for a few hours before getting up again.

Sho hadn't argued with him because he knew what Kei said was true. Kei could handle himself. He had done so all these years before he came along. He didn't need a brat like him telling him what was best and what wasn't. His advice would basically be a nuisance more than help, so he didn't badger him about his nightly routine. Oddly enough, he knew that if he did, Kei would stop going out at night to feed and that wouldn't help either of them. Kei starving was pointless if he had only to step outside of their private solitude and take those who roamed the streets at his leisure. Kei fought secretly to prove a point. The point being that he could be normal, just like everyone else, if Sho never saw him being who he was, a vampire; or rather a monster who lived by taking the lives of other. Those had been his words weeks before when he had broached the subject of his looking weak. "Drop it!" Kei had hissed. His words had been filled with anger, and a malice Sho had never seen before. It was a part of him he never wanted to see again.

It was obvious that Kei hated who he was, what he was. He hated himself so much that he once choice to starve himself rather than feed on human flesh. He had grown so weak his entire body had quacked under the skin, his teeth chattering as his body fought to stay connected to this world when he was so determined to leave it. His efforts had been neglected when Sho, seeing how fragile he had become, yelled at him to stop torturing himself.

"Kill," he had yelled, gripping Kei's weak legs, causing the older man to stumble against a wall. "Kill, if that means you'll live."

Kei had looked down into his brown eyes, his own dimming at the younger man's words; his small frame trembling under Sho's tight hold. A dark shadow seemed to sweep over him, taking what youthful innocence he had managed to hold on to away and replacing it momentarily with anger and resentment. Not resentment toward Sho, but rather his words and his nonchalant attitude about what he must do to stay alive. He hadn't fought or even yelled, but simply waited to be released before walking, head bent, body shaking, into his bedroom, closing the door, the click of the lock placing a barrier between himself and the boy, no man, he loved, who now sat crying on the living room floor.

Sho sat up, his hands brushing his fair hair from his face. He looked about the dark room; his eyes taking in the simple and plain furniture they had savaged from the streets during the passing years. The apartment was small an old. It wasn't much but it was theirs and it was the closest thing to home that either of them had ever had.

Standing, he crossed to the large window that overlooked the city. Pulling the dark curtains aside, he peered down at the darkened streets below. He could just see late night stragglers roaming the icy roads, none of them discernible as Kei; though he knew he was among them. He could feel his very presence.

He watched the shadowed figures pass underneath street lamps and he couldn't help but wonder if they knew a hungry and very dangerous vampire walked among them. Though Kei explained that he only killed "bad" men if he could help it, Sho was sure on some nights exceptions had been made and innocent lives had been taken…killed so that Kei could live. How ironic were those words? They were disgusting, humiliating, but necessary actions for a man who had no choice. It was either kill or die, and Sho made sure Kei knew where he stood on the matter.

He had never regretted his words since that night, though he never voiced his opinion again after seeing the light in Kei's eyes fade away. He was responsible for that light; he wouldn't be responsible for extinguishing it.

So, as he watched he thought about who was next? Who was that unlucky person who would be the victim of Kei's hunger on this night? It could be anyone: a man, or girl, a child or an adult. They were all fair pawns in the game Kei played during the night. One life for another? He couldn't explain why the thought of someone dying at Kei's hands didn't bother him in the least. It was necessary, right? He couldn't lose Kei. He was his friend, a mentor and father in every sense of the word. Losing him would he like losing a part of himself, maybe even his entire self if that was possible.

If wishing death on someone else would help save the person you cherished most in life was reason enough to be considered evil, then hell, he was fucking evil. He felt justified in his beliefs because when all was said and done, these people's deaths were necessary.

He knew that if Kei could hear his thoughts right then he would be disappointed. Kei didn't want him to consider his actions as "necessary." That was why he sneaked out each night when he was asleep and would return before morning so that he'd be there when Sho awakened. It was all a façade to hide who he was from Sho in an attempt to be normal in his eyes. "Out of sight, out of mind," was Kei's motto. Cliché, though that's exactly how Kei lived his life.

So, they played the game. If Kei rather he didn't see who he was, he was fine with that, just as long as Kei continued to feed and live for him. He would go along with the unspoken game. That was the only way he wouldn't lose him. For now, he was okay with that.

So, two hours later when he heard footsteps outside the apartment door, he hurried to bed and climbed between the cold sheets. He lay motionless; his breath unusually steady in his chest as it rose and fell in one fluid motion. The door opened and closed. There was the sound of steps then silence.

The leather of the daybed gave under Kei's weight as he took a seat at Sho's back, and Sho hid a smile when Kei pressed a light kiss on his temple, his cool fingertips resting on his shoulder as he stood and left the room.

Yes, if this was what Kei wanted, he would give in to his wish. The nightly routine was their own, and for now it would do.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


End file.
